With a perceived shortage of electric vehicle (EV) chargers being a big reason why many drivers are hesitant to give up their gas-powered vehicles, it would seem that more companies willing to supply chargers, the better.
That’s not always the case, however, Dan Rolle, founder of a DC Fast Charing-related stealth startup, recently posted on LinkedIn. According to Rolle, ChargePoint currently holds 7.7 percent of the U.S. DC fast charging market, but that number, “needs to be zero.”
Rolle’s sentiment stems from the fact that the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program and other reliability standards are pushing ChargePoint to reevaluate its chargers’ reliability. The company is reportedly investing $200 million into these efforts.
“(ChargePoint) has a flawed model,” Rolle wrote. “Branding chargers and handing them off to owner and operators without standards was always a recipe for disaster. ChargePoint was always willing to charge a premium for the name, not so much to ensure the premium meant anything.”
Financial difficulties have also given Rolle pause when it comes to ChargePoint. The EV charger provider’s stock has an “F” rating and reportedly saw its $10 billion evaluation evaporate. ChargePoint also saw its stock hit a 52-week low last month, The Motley Fool reports. Additionally, ChargePoint was engaged in a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021 when its stock traded at $26 a share. Today, it’s trading at closer to $2 per share, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“This company has no place consulting anyone on how to make money in DCFC, which is their alleged core business model,” Rolle said.
Meanwhile, Rolle noted the customer experience with CharePoint hasn’t been good. The company scored a 639 out of 1000 in a recent survey and customers complained about charging stations not working, trouble getting in touch with the company and overall poor customer service.
While ChargePoint has benefited from EV charging grants, the product has not reflected the funding it has received, according to Rolle.
“They are a grant-wasting pit of money,” he wrote. “EV Grants are important. Yet, simply allowing a station to get put in the ground isn't enough. If thousands of dollars of taxpayer money go to a station, there needs to be accountability.”
Issues include deployed defective EV charging stations and cutting ties with stations after the sale.
“I believe ChargePoint doesn’t count ‘abandoning’ stations in its reliability metrics,” Rolle said. “They got rewarded for this—guess who is in line for the recent $100 million federal program to fix chargers?”
Disclosure: Dan Rolle has a Stealth Startup that incorporates DC Fast Charing into a retail experience. The company does not produce DC Fast Charging, associated software and do not have public OCPP.
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